RH Clark

I believe it may be the best thing we can do for our overall health, especially as we get older.
Just a 4 min. video from one of the leading experts on longevity.

Wildwood 

Smaller plates = smaller portions

RH Clark

OK, but how is that relevant? Did you bother to watch the 4 min video? The research is very specific that the same benefit is not found if the same amount is consumed over several meals. It's not less food that makes a difference. It's time duration.

GhostRider62

Sometimes

Balance of mTOR and AMPK pathways

Can't or shouldn't always eat like a pig and shouldn't also be catabolic all the time.

Skinny old people live a long time but are frail. Fat young people may be strong but they die early. A good balance can lead to a longer healthy lifespan. Fall and early winter would be when I would use various techniques to activate mTOR and lose weight, this time also corresponds to when any exercise would be low aerobic. I have no interest to live to 150 like SInclair but it would be nice to be strong, lean and have good balance and mobility into my late 80's and then just drink the good stuff and smoke cigars until around 95.

RH Clark

Did you take time to watch the vid? How often and how long do you fast?

GhostRider62

Isn't it obvious from my response that I did?

It was childishly simple and a waste of 4 minutes, is that what you wanted to hear?

Did you take time to read what I wrote? Consider what I was saying? It took more than 4 minutes to write.

RH Clark

Yes, I did. I wasn't being hostile toward you.

The vid I posted wasn't meant to be a comprehensive study in fasting. It was meant to possibly interest anyone in looking into the subject for themselves.

rsbob 

Answering the question: No.

Become hypoglycemic, tired, moody and feel like…. You know what.

Am very aware of the research on periodic fasting and caloric restrictions but for me they would make me feel sick and I would prefer to just live life and burn my calories on the bike.

Juan Foote

I tend to agree with the above answer by rsbob.

We have been working on changing our eating habits and after a lifetime of eating a certain way at specific times and schedules have found it very difficult to move down to two meals a day. Fasting is out of the question for both of us.

MoAlpha

No. Calorie restriction makes the worms and the mousies live longer in the lab, but in humans living in the wild, the beneficial effects are impossible to separate from weight loss, and incidental diet changes. Also, most of the lab studies have calorie restricted the animals from an early age. With regard to fasting specifically, again, it makes people healthier, but one would need an "iso-caloric" control group fed the same diet on a conventional schedule to show that the effects weren't due to just eating less or better.

Those skinny old people, of which I am one, may not die from cardiovascular disease at the same rate as the general population, but they don't necessarily live a long time either. Low lean body mass is a strong (bad) predictor of all-cause mortality in old age, with a big effect size.

I think Peter Attia is a bit of a jerk, but I agree when he says he doesn't want to hear about nutrition from anyone who can't deadlift their own weight. I will reach that goal this winter if I don't hurt myself in the process, but I will need to eat a lot!

Charles Lathe

Through my forties I regularly fasted for a day or more at a time. Now, at the end of my sixties, I just feel terrible if I don’t eat something every day. I do stop eating by about six in the evening. I eat a breakfast of toast and a fruit smoothie at eight in the morning. During the day, I don’t snack, but I eat a light lunch at noon and then a good dinner at five. I feel better if I am slightly hungry most of the time.

jppe

Similar here. I feel bloated and sluggish if I eat a heavy breakfast or lunch. I do eat more if I have a longish ride the next day or the day of. In fact there have been times when I’ve even added a meal or two during the day if I’m doing multi day tours with big miles.

I lost 60 lbs by burning more calories than I was eating by riding plus reducing sugary foods.

RH Clark

Thanks everyone. To answer my own question, I typically eat all my calories for the day between 3-6 pm. I've been pretty consistent for about 3 years. There are occasions when I will eat sooner if I feel weak or just really hungry or I'm planning an all-day ride, but I would say I'm consistent with it 90% of the time. I'm not a bodybuilder or very much of a cyclist either. I typically ride about 100 miles a week, but I ride 6-7 days a week to get there. I have done some 50-mile rides while fasted, but I wasn't pushing to my max the whole time either.

I encourage everyone to look into the benefits of fasting and see if you can incorporate it sometime. I don't think it needs to be every day to get the benefit.

Carbonfiberboy 

Agreed. Though I think that's a risk-of-falling thing. For sure sarcopenia is real and not a good thing. Those who don't fight it are going to lose.

There was that weird study over in T&N which said geezers hurt worse in the gym and that's good for gene transcription, but no word as to whether "hurting worse" actually does anything. So I'm on an N=2 experiment to see. (I may have over layman-ized the study.) You've probably noticed the issue in the gym by now. I used to take time off or go easy when I was hurting, but now I'm trying to just keep at it, see what happens. No results yet, too early. I don't eat a lot, but I'm increased my protein percentage. In my mid-60s I used to half-squat (90° knee angle) 1.5 X BW. I could have gone heavier, but didn't like the feeling in my knees. Lately, I've just been full-squatting. Less weight but I think full range of motion is usually better.

Carbonfiberboy 

Agreed. IME and with other athletic geezers, barring severe injury, the heart is the first thing to go, at about my age or earlier, usually though not always among those who do a lot of high HR work. Once the heart's on the blink the objectives become problematic. Weight shoots up and strength goes down. Just my observation. The oldest rider on RAMROD is usually about 80. That seems to be the upper limit of serious aerobic athleticism and is limited to a very few individuals. You might be one!.

MoAlpha

Yeah, falls must be a big piece, combined with the osteopenia that the same people have, but there may be more to it. For instance, you need a reserve to come out of a period of bed rest with enough muscle to get up.

I saw and commented on that transcription study too. Interesting, but a little hard to interpret. As someone else said, stress turns genes on!

I am no weight lifting expert and a total weakling. I know how to do a few things and I stick to what I know is safe. If something hurts, I stop!

jadmt

video does not show up for me but I am almost 64yoa and fast often. I literally forget to eat sometimes. I just got in from a metric century ie a little over 62 miles and I had one egg and two cups of coffee before the ride and drank about 56 ounces of water during the ride. got home and had a handful of red grapes. Now I gotta go mow the lawn.

Polaris OBark

My 82 lb grandmother made it to 102.
My 140 lb father made it to 59.
By linear extrapolation, I should have been dead 20 years ago.

I try not to eat anything between 8:00pm and 7:00 am. After that, I break the fast.

streetsurfer

Yes. I’ve fasted several times a year since the nineteen-eighties.

streetsurfer

caloso

Yes. I typically do 16-8 most days. I was never a big breakfast person, so it isn't a hard stretch to just have a coffee or two in the morning. Between noon and 8 pm, I eat whatever I want, as much as want, but I stop at 8pm.

It took a bit of adjustment, as I missed having an evening snack. And it can be hard to complete a morning workout above endurance intensity, so I've moved those workouts to after lunch.

But it's helped me maintain the weight I want and I feel sharp, both physically and mentally. Originally, I started doing it just for weight control, but if it's going to help me live longer, and more importantly, live healthily longer, then I'm going to keep at it.

sshakari

I have been fasting intermittently and regularly for 24-72 hours with excellent results.
I ride 3-4 times a week for 2 hours in zone 2. Lately after reading and Youtube vids on endurance training - on ride days I don't fast as I use about 30g of carbs for the second hour.
Longer-term fasting has really good benefits for health. I follow dr. Mindy Pelz and its been instrumental for inflammation and general health. I fast 24 hours once a week and 48-72 hours once a month.
I highly recommend everyone to try it.

nlerner

I also have been intermittent fasting for about four years now: pretty much all of my caloric intake is between noon and 8 pm. It allows me to ride in the mornings on only a cup of coffee, often 50 miles or so and a couple of times around 75 miles. I definitely appreciate the meal that follows!

jon c. 

I generally only eat between 7pm and 11pm. If donuts or baked goods cross my path during the day I won't decline. But that doesn't happen very often. In pre-covid days I'd go out to lunch once a month or so.

It wasn't really intentional. Never much of a breakfast person, I grew bored with lunch and just ended up on this schedule.

tkamd73 

Not since I was a practicing Catholic, some 50 plus years ago.
Tim